QINGDAO, March 13, SinoCast -- Qingdao, the largest harbor city in Shandong Province in north China, decides to spend CNY 2.5 billion in road construction in 2009, in order to speed up the land communications with its subways and neighbors.

The city will build a directly-connected highway to Laixi, a fast-growing city under the administration of Qingdao. It is a portion of the one-hour economic circle centered by Qingdao. Now, the main road between Qingdao and Laixi is a section of Qingdao-Yantai Highway and there is no direct road between the two cities.

Qingdao will also gear up the preparation works for the construction of Qingdao-Longkou Highway. Although the line has not been fixed by far, the highway will certainly go through Laixi. The local government is doubling effort to kick off the construction as soon as possible.

Notably, Qingdao-Longkou Highway, the National 204 Road, and Tongjiang-Sanya Road will jointly create a fast land transport corridor to connect Qingdao and Yantai.

QINGDAO, March 26, SinoCast -- The overall layout about the Dongjiakou port for the Port of Qingdao, an important port in Shandong, east China, is approved jointly by the Ministry of Transport of China and Shandong Provincial Government.

With a land area of about 38 square kilometers, the new port is scheduled to have a coastline of about 20 kilometers and 112 berths. After the completion, it is forecast to reach a cargo throughput of more than 20 million tons by 2015 and have a final throughput of over 100 million tons.

Its service will be focused mainly on bulk cargo, liquid chemicals, and general cargo, according to the layout. It will gradually grown into a comprehensive port, with a developable hinterland area of more than 70 square kilometers.

In detail, it will be composed of five areas such as the large-sized open dock, the liquid bulk cargo dock, the general bulk cargo dock, the container dock, and the logistics park.

Earlier this month, Shanghai Shimao and Shiao Property Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qingdao Urban Development, jointly acquired the site for 920 million yuan.

Lawrence Hui, the chief financial officer of Shimao Property Holdings, which holds 64 per cent of the Shanghai-listed company, said construction costs would be twice the cost of the land, bringing the total investment to about 2.7 billion yuan.

The site will be developed into two towers - a 310-metre office building and a 280-metre hotel-and-retail block.

"The 310-metre tower will be the tallest building in Shandong," said Mr Hui.

The project will have a total gross floor area of 240,000 square metres.

Although details of the development have not yet been finalised, Mr Hui said the main office building would also include space for small businesses.

Shanghai Shimao has a 75 per cent stake in the development and state-owned Qingdao Urban Development 25 per cent.

Mr Hui said the Shanghai company would focus on expanding into commercial property development while its Hong Kong-listed vehicle, Shimao Property, would concentrate on residential projects.

The latest acquisition has boosted Shanghai Shimao's land bank to nearly 5.3 million sqmetres of gross floor area under construction on the mainland.

Meanwhile, Mr Hui said Shimao Property was still considering a proposal to spin off its mainland hotel properties. The firm deferred the flotation because of the dramatic change in the investment climate in the latter part of last year.

For the year to December, residential sales accounted for 93 per cent of Shimao Property's turnover, while 7 per cent came from rental income.

Mr Hui said Shimao Property aimed to increase its recurring income to between 15 and 20 per cent of total turnover, but he refused to give a timetable, as it would take time to build up its investment property portfolio. Shimao Property said its rental income rose 48 per cent last year to 951 million yuan, of which hotel revenue accounted for 771 million yuan, up 36.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Shares of Shimao Property dropped 3.35 per cent to close at HK$10.94 yesterday.

Tesco to set up stores in Qingdao
22 June 2009
DTZ Asia Property Market Update

The British grocery and retail giant Tesco's plan to invest a total of USD153 million in two stores in Qingdao has been approved, according to the Qingdao Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Bureau, as quoted in media reports in mid-May 2009. The two stores, known as ¡§Mingxia Tesco¡¨ and ¡§Renmin Tesco¡¨, are the biggest single foreign investment in the service sector in Qingdao this year so far, along with other major ventures by companies, such as Jusco, Carrefour, Metro and B&Q. 82 corporations on the Fortune 500 list have already established their presence in Qingdao, with 168 projects.

This report should not be relied upon as a basis for entering into transactions without seeking specific, qualified, professional advice. Whilst facts have been rigorously checked, DTZ can take no responsibility for any damage or loss suffered as a result of any inadvertent inaccuracy within this report. Information contained herein should not, in whole or part, be published, reproduced or referred to without prior approval. Any such reproduction should be credited.

PetroChina's Tai'an-Qingdao-Weihai natural gas pipeline to be built this month

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) - PetroChina (PTR.NYSE; 0857.HK; 601857.SH) plans to kick off the construction of its 1,024-km Tai'an-Qingdao-Weihai natural gas pipeline, the feeder line of its second West-to-East pipeline and spanning 11 cities in Shandong province.

The pipeline will feed either on the natural gas from the second Shaanxi-Tianjin pipeline or the second West-to-East pipeline, said officials from Shandong Provincial National Development and Reform Commission, without revealing its total transportation capacity or schedule for operations.

The Tai'an-Qingdao-Weihai pipeline is designed to have five feeder lines, which are expected to cover the gas supply to Shandong province, turf currently claimed by Sinopec, PetroChina's rival. Enditem

The Doubletree by Hilton Qingdao/Chengyang in Shandong has been formally opened.

This opening brings the number of Doubletree by Hilton hotels in China to three, illustrating the growth strategy Hilton is targeting for the Doubletree brand across Asia Pacific.

This newly redeveloped 320-room hotel includes 24 suites and comes with extensive meetings and events facilities designed to cater for up to 750 people. It is owned by the Qingdao Sunkin Group.

For health and fitness there are the hotel's spa facilities, an indoor heated swimming pool, well-equipped gymnasium and squash court. Unique to Doubletree by Hilton Qingdao/Chengyang is a 260 by 110 meter golf driving range.

The hotel's meetings and events facilities can cater for groups from two to 750 people with a dedicated conference area situated on the second floor including a grand ballroom, a multi-function hall, and meeting rooms of various sizes. Guests can also make use of the private rooms adjacent to the hotel's Harbour Seafood Restaurant for more intimate meetings.

As with all Doubletree hotels, wireless Internet access and advanced audio and visual equipment are available in all public spaces.

QINGDAO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Construction started Friday on the first subway line in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, home of world-famous Tsingtao Beer.

A 25.1-kilometer line with 22 stops will be built in the seaside city, the venue of sailing events for last summer's Olympics, at a cost of 13 billion yuan (1.9 billion U.S. dollars), said Liu Jianjun, executive deputy head of the subway construction headquarters.

It would open in 2014 and be able to handle 235,000 passengers a day, Liu said.

The city would add another line by 2016, expanding the system to 54.7 km, he said.

The city plans to build eight lines by 2050 with a total length of 231.5 km, said Hu Shaojun, vice mayor of Qingdao.

Chengyang District in Qingdao is growing into the city's biggest ground logistics center. The district has recently started the construction of a logistics and distribution exchange center with planned investments of US$40 million. Besides distribution and handling transit of cargoes, the logistics centre will integrate other functions of information services, warehouse management, processing and packaging. The ground courier logistics centre is expected to generate revenue of RMB150 million and tax payment of RMB30 million upon commencement of operation. CommoditiesScienceO Logistics, one of China's biggest logistics company co-invested by CommoditiesScienceO Group and CommoditiesScienceO Pacific Co., Ltd, has already invested US$40 million in the construction of a warehousing center in Chengyang District. The warehousing center has started trial run and will become the biggest warehousing center in Shandong.

Qingdao International Airport which is located in Chengyang District has also expanded its cargo and mail transport capacity to 115,000 tons.

Liu Zhigong, an electronics engineer in Qingdao in northeastern China, is searching for a bigger home almost double the size of his existing apartment.

In his case the search has not been prompted by a desire to beat any further clampdowns on credit, which the market expects from the central government, but by a pressing need for more space.

"I plan to live with my parents and therefore I need a bigger flat," said Liu, who lives with his wife and son in an 80 square metre unit in Shinan district, Qingdao's traditional city centre and one of the oldest residential areas in the province.

He is now looking for a 150 square metre unit and one of his choices is a flat at Silver Carse, a residential project in Shinan.

"When my child was young I decided to live in a place close to his school. That's why I picked a smaller unit in the city centre. Now he is a secondary school student so we can move to a bigger unit in the newly developed residential district," Liu said.

"Also, my parents are getting old and I want to stay with them."

Upgraders such as Liu are a key source of demand in the Qingdao market, where many of the older apartment blocks were built in the 1980s and have become obsolete.

In line with a surging economy and rising per capita incomes, the city's property market has been flourishing.

With the addition of new upmarket flats, prices have risen to a range of 6,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan per square metre at the top end of the market, from the cheapest units costing just 1,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan per square metre in 2002, according to Yuan Chun, a deputy general manager at China Overseas Land's Qingdao office.

The city's economy grew 16 per cent in 2007 and expanded by a further 13.2 per cent last year.

Sales of flats in the city in the first six months of this year totalled 1.38 million square metres - up nearly 100 per cent on the same period last year.

The development of the Qingdao market is similar to many other mainland cities.

Michael Wu, a director of Fitch Ratings' Asia-Pacific corporate team, said: "Real demand for homes in China remains on the rise and will continue to support the development of the industry in the long run."

That view is endorsed by developer China Overseas Land, which says the mainland housing market would not see a peak until 2035.

The conclusion was based on many variables, including a 1 per cent per month increase in the process of urbanisation, said an executive of the company. "We may see short-term fluctuations but the long-term outlook is good," he said.

Housing prices in the mainland's 70 biggest cities increased 3.9 per cent last month from October last year, the fastest rate of property inflation since September last year and confirming a solid rebound from a slump that began in the fourth quarter.

During January to September this year, gross residential floor area sold on the mainland totalled 537 million sq metres, a 46 per cent increase year on year and 24 per cent higher than the same period in 2007, according to investment bank UBS.

Prices in the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have risen 20 per cent since the end of last year because of much stronger investment demand, and were up in the high teens in many second-tier cities, UBS said in a recent report.

On Monday the central government's top think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, predicted that housing prices would keep rising next year.

"Our view is that property prices will keep rising in 2010, but that there will be some volatility," researcher Ni Pengfei said.

The traditional rush by banks to lend at the start of the year would be seen early next year. Monetary policy was still relatively loose, providing ample cash for property acquisitions, Ni said.

Rising inflationary expectations would also prompt investors to put more cash into real estate assets that benefit from rising price levels. The mainland's long-term urbanisation trend has underpinned the property market but some analysts are concerned over housing affordability for many ordinary people. Other concerns include the potential tightening of housing policy.

However, analysts said these concerns should not be overstated as housing demand would be largely a function of affordability, liquidity and policy in the near term, and demand would remain strong in the long term.

"Because prices in many cities have gone up [so fast] in such a short time, affordability is worsening and end-user demand will inevitably be affected," the UBS report said.

As a result, while policy changes might cause some near-term pain to both physical and capital market sentiment, this would be necessary for ensuring healthier and more sustainable growth in the economy as a whole, it added.

QINGDAO, December 29, SinoCast -- British retailer Tesco is seeking to open Lifespace Mall in the city of Qingdao, China's eastern coastal Shandong Province, in a move to play catch-up with retailing giants such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour.

Located at the intersection of Renmin road and Chongqing South road, the new Lifespace Mall is a comprehensive shopping center which is made up of seven floors, including two underground and five above ground, and 600 parking spaces.

With a total construction area of 74,000 square meters, it will encompass a long list of Chinese and international brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Holiland, Daphne, Etam, and Mickey.

Tesco cut into the Chinese market in 2004 and it now has set up 65 supermarkets and six trial convenience stores in 29 Chinese cities.

TESCO's upcoming presence in Qingdao is the latest example of how Qingdao is successfully attracting national and international investment; so far, 82 out of the top 500 enterprises worldwide have built up their presence in the city, with 168 individual projects.

TRIPS to stars, moon visits, aliens and 3-D are often winning elements in movies, as "Avatar" has demonstrated.

Now a Chinese start-up firm in Qingdao has produced 3-D titles, such as "Alien Zoo" and "Back to the Moon."

The company, Animell Digital International Co, has produced several 3-D cartoon titles and distributed them in the West and domestic markets.

"Our latest expansion plans call for new organizations to train our own animation professionals and voice actors," says Zhou Yuan, deputy manager of the company in the east coastal city.

"That will help improve product quality, save costs and also be in line with international business models."

Animell's development is just the latest example in Qingdao's ambition to build itself into an innovation city.

Besides traditional home appliance giants Haier Group and Hisense Corp, many young firms, with various innovative ideas, have chosen Qingdao to develop business and seek opportunities.

The city has instituted policy incentives to encourage high-tech, low-polluting and low energy-consuming enterprises to move to Qingdao.

The city offers a projected 63-square-kilometer area to accommodate innovative development, pioneering technology, energy-efficient infrastructure and investment-friendly policies, according to Zhao Shiyu, deputy director-general of the Qingdao High-tech Industrial Development Zone Administrative Committee.

Other projects include a LED chipset manufacturing facility and a telecommunications antenna factory.

The LED (light emitting diode) project, which cost 400 million yuan (US$58.8 million), may upgrade production line technology this year. It makes sapphire chipsets, a key component used in energy-efficient solid lighting, according to Istarwafer Technology Co Ltd.

Fang Yongqiang, general manager of the Qingdao Utone Communication Equipment Co, says the antenna manufacturing company will start production by the end of this month, with an initial investment of 300 million yuan.

"There is still space in the market if products are innovative," says Fang. Utone Communication's products feature a wider angle for receiving signals compared with rivals, Fang adds.

Haier and Hisense, with a long history in Qingdao, have also invested heavily to develop innovative products.

The firms have both launched Internet TVs, which feature more interactive functions.

Meanwhile, they plan to launch TVs that support 3-D display in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, overseas players like Sony and Samsung have kicked off 3-D TV in the overseas markets.

"Though it's a new concept product in China, it will become popular one day," says a Hisense official during a recent display show in Shanghai. "That was what happened with LCD TV."

"We started business through outsourcing orders," says Zhou. "Now we aim to export self-innovation products and Chinese culture to the global market."

Q & A on policies and incentives

An interview with Zhao Shiyu, deputy director-general of the Qingdao High-tech Industrial Development Zone Administrative Committee.

Q: What are Qingdao's core development industries?

A: Seven core industries are expected to develop in the zone, including electronic information, marine science and technology, medicine and biotechnology, advanced equipment manufacturing, modern services, new materials and new energy, and energy efficiency.

Q: What's the zone's target?

A: By the end of March, it attracted 7.3 billion yuan contracted investment. By 2012, it's expected to attract 50 high-tech projects with employee levels of 20,000 to 30,000. The high-tech output will reach 220 billion yuan, which will account for 20 percent of the city's GDP.

At the same time, the zone will be designed in an environmentally friendly and modern style. All utilities will be underground. No sewer covers can be seen on the roads and no electricity wires can be seen in the sky.

Q: What are the special policies?

A: Preferential policies include tax incentives, subsidy support and finance support. For example, certificated high-tech enterprises in the zone can benefit from an income tax rate of 15 percent. Integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises with investment of more than 8 billion yuan or manufacturing integrated circuit lines less than 0.25 microns wide can be taxed at a rate of 15 percent.

The zone administration will cooperate with banks to issue combined bonds for small- and median sized enterprises, which will help ease the financial burden.

Q: What are the zone requirements?

A: We have a "three-nos" policy. We will reject firms that are not high-tech, that consume huge amounts of electricity, or that pollute.

In China's biggest wine museum, visitors stroll down Wine Chateau Boulevard, learn the history and technology of wine making, glimpse vineyards around the world and, of course, drink wine.

The more Chinese know about wine, the more they are likely to drink, and China has a long way to go. Average annual per capita consumption is only 0.33 liters, compared with world champion Luxembourg at 70.36 liters, the museum says.

The 8,800-square-meter Qingdao Wine Museum is built in an underground air-raid shelter, making it perfectly cool for a wine cellar as well as a wine bank. There connoisseurs can store their vintages and get advice on investments.

It has 19 wine bars featuring wines from more than 20 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and the United States.

The museum is located on Qingdao Red Wine Street, a major economic development, that opened last September and features numerous wine stores selling wines (red, white, sparkling) from around the world. The developing commercial street also features cafes and restaurants. The street is near Qingdao's famous Beer Street.

"The museum focuses on the origins and history of wine, displays wine culture and promotes the wine technology and knowledge," says museum Director Wang Qifan.

Visitors walk down a 192-meter-long corridor, the Wine Chateau Boulevard, featuring interactive displays, LED screens and numerous exhibitions covering every aspect of wine and wine making through the ages around the world, including wine rituals.

It also features Chinese wines, legendary yellow rice wines and newer vintages of reds and covers the notable wines of Shandong Province and other wine-growing regions.

At the entrance is a large statue of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus (Bacchus) near a grape vine.

"Dionysus not only has the power to intoxicate people but also to maintain peace and love in the world," says Wang.

Displays include wine containers through the ages, including ancient Chinese pots, Greek amphorae, barrels of all kinds, glasses, cups, decanters and accessories.

The UK government donated a 400-year-old set of crystal glasses once owned by an aristocrat.

The museum displays oil paintings and sculptures from around the world that feature wine and wine drinking.

Qingdao leading new wave of development
29 July 2010
China Daily - Hong Kong Edition

With the rapid development of advanced equipment manufacturing, high-tech industries and modern services, Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong, is becoming an industrial leader.

"Qingdao will take advantage of its high technologies, talent pool and innovative strength to pilot Shandong's plan to foster high-end industry clusters in the Jiaodong Peninsula," Xia Geng, mayor of Qingdao, told China Daily.

In 2009, the output value of high-tech industries in the city was more than 445 billion yuan, up 15.7 percent from the year before.

According to a plan unveiled last December, Qingdao will accelerate development of high-end industries. Among the key industries listed in the plan are marine research and development, biological engineering and new materials; and advanced equipment manufacturing.

Other predictions place future high-tech industrial output value at an excess of 650 billion yuan.

Finance, logistics and similar high value-added services are also expected to grow, with output value hitting 190 billion yuan.

Attracting investors

Qingdao has already attracted many domestic and foreign investments.

According to the Qingdao Bureau of Commerce, 42 well-known domestic companies - including Datang Power, China Railway Logistics, China Resources, Poly, and Shenzhen Huaqiang - invested in 65 projects in the city last year, contributing a total of 106.8 billion yuan.

In addition, 83 of the world's top 500 enterprises have invested in 175 projects within Qingdao. The projects involve high-end industries such as new energy, new materials, bio-medicine, shipbuilding, marine science and technology, and modern services.

As a result, a number of cutting-edge products have been produced. For example, CSR Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Co Ltd has developed trains that reach speeds up to 350 km/h.

Qingdao is also an important manufacturing base for ships, household electrical appliances and light helicopters.

And a number of high-end industrial parks have developed rapidly in Qingdao. Its high-tech industrial zone saw the establishment of 21 large projects last year with a total investment of 6.3 billion yuan.

Large projects

Qingdao North Ship Heavy Industry Group invested 7.4 billion yuan in a huge shipbuilding and repair facility last year in Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone. The facility was immediately followed by several large part manufacturing projects, each with an investment of more than 2 billion yuan.

The zone is now the largest shipbuilding and repair base in China, with an annual shipbuilding capacity of 2 million dead weight tons.

In March, construction began on a new semiconductor lighting and display production base in Jiaozhou Bay New Area, with a total investment of 18 billion yuan. It is expected to lead to the formation of an industrial chain with an annual output value of more than 80 billion yuan in five to eight years.

Just a month later, China's first large-scale sapphire LED chip production project became operational in Qingdao high-tech zone, helping efforts to minimize reliance on imported products.

Admiral Oversea Corporation, a global display manufacturing giant, will build its 10th largest global production base in Qingdao. The project will be completed in 2011 and have an annual production capacity of 2 million units.

Qingdao is home to 27 well-known Chinese trademarks and 68 famous Chinese brands.